Don't feel you need to encourage Ideasshare! S/he is a crazy Chinese photoshopper.who unfortunately is often the first to reply to posts. I think you're running into the classic conundrum between gardening and landscaping. In landscaping, the plants fulfill a specific function according to their size, shape, colour, foliage, etc. They are there for some purpose related to how the house looks, where you want privacy, etc. Landscaping is a big picture exercise where plant details don't matter much. Gardening is where ypu nurture and enjoy plants for their own sakes, and for the sake of their details, which may be seasonal or otherwise fleeting - not for the sake of the overall impression that the plant collection will make. So I think you're expressing frustration at having put in a garden but still having no landscaping. Attention to hardscape is often the key to making a garden work as a big picture attribute, and what you've done in that regard is helping a lot here. Your beds are nicely shaped and clearly defined, your paths are wide and have a distinct presence. From there, the decision to add evergreen "bones" should really depend on what is important to you about the space. Most people like an evergreen landscape installation on the public side, and don't mind having bare beds in winter because they enjoy watching their plants emerge and thrive in spring and summer. Certainly if you add evergreens to your beds you should do it with a view to how they will look when everything else has died down... mixing evergreens and perennials is not always an unmitigated success. I mean, think about it, what pleasure do you get out of a juniper in a bed in the back yard all by its lonesome in November? In other words, out there, what's the point? But if that's what you want to do, I would suggest you actually forget about the perennials you have in so far and just do a nice arrangement of evergreens, so that you're happy when the perennials die down and let the evergreens shine. But there is something to be said for having separate landscaping beds where landscaping matters, and garden beds that you know will die down in winter but look great when you spend time outdoors. I mean, again, how exciting is it to sit next to a yew on the patio in summer? You want something that is exciting to look at up close. I hope that will help you figure out what type of plant you might want to put where. KarinL

I also think that Mr. B has a cool idea there. Or you might want to try kind of a reverse hang-on overflow. Saltwater tanks often use this system of filtration when they use a sump but the tank isn't pre-drilled with an overflow box inside. Do you know what I'm talking about? If not, talk to the people at your local saltwater fish store. Normally the water is flowing INTO the overflow from the tank and then going down into the sump, but you could just reverse the flow, without needing a sump, so that the water is coming up from the false bottom (would require the right plumbing, which would probably also involve drilling the tank) and then flowing into the tank, so that it appears the water is flowing out of the aquarium and down the waterfall. Another animal suggestion I forgot about is a Fire-Belly Toad. They are really a frog, and have very attractive colours. You do need to keep them in small groups (just like PDFs), but they are better swimmers, and are semi-aquatic, so they actually require a larger water area than PDFs. I don't think they're excellent swimmers, so 12" might be a bit deep, but it might be okay if you have some emergent aquatics, like a large Amazon Sword. Actually, I just realized that if you make the pool 12" deep, it will visually divide the height of your tank exactly in half, and that is generally considered to be UNaesthetic. Thirds are more attractive, so you should actually make the pool only 8-10" deep. I think that large schools of neons are absolutely stunning! They seem to be the perfect fish for planted aquariums. If you want things to look larger than they are though (the 'bonsai' fish idea), then cat sharks are a good choice. They will eventually grow huge, and I don't know if they're plant safe, but they really do look like mini sharks! They even have the smooth skin, unlike those so called 'Bala sharks'. Their scales are so big they look like normal fish, not sharks. Cat sharks are brackish when very young though, so that might not work. Perhaps a figure-eight puffer, which would also eat any snails that appear? I don't know, but cory cats are also great. Aren't they cute? =) Oh yeah, if your entire false bottom is 12" high, then you are taking away lots of your wonderful height for the land part! You have the option for some nice taller plants if you keep the land level lower. Also, you will need to hide that false bottom, so then the terrarium tank will appear much smaller than the aquarium tank, and I don't know if you want that with them right beside each other. I have seen water dished for cats and dogs that have a small jug of water attached to the bowl. The jug can be full of water but it doesn't overflow into the dish. Perhaps you could do something like that, with the same principle? (whatever it is, I'm sure Nathan knows). =) Nathan: I have a Mac. I would use Safari, which is better, but I don't like the way the bookmarks work, so I use Internet Explorer. I'll deal with it. =)

How so, Logan? Incrediball/Annabelle Looks pretty consistent and formal? Gold mound spirea and forsythia are Wal-Mart parking lot plants. Evergreens would look horrible between these, they will just blend in. Azalea only flowers in the spring. Concorde Barberry would look nice as say.

Groundcovers or other very low spreading plants come to mind. Ones that I like for more shade than not are Oxalis oregana, Cyclamen hederifolium or coum, Adiantum venustum and Lamium maculatum. I also use epimediums if something a bit taller needed. Vinca minor works as well but you need to stay on top of it as it can be aggressive.